Designers of buildings that will have concrete foundations and steel beams as structural members need to securely and accurately connect the beams to the foundation. Typically, this is accomplished using an embed, which is placed into the concrete foundation during the casting of the concrete such that a portion of the embed remains exposed for connection to a steel beam.
The steel beam is usually connected to the embed by first welding a small angle onto the embed for the beam to rest on. Once the beam is aligned properly, the beam is then welded to the embed along the longitudinal axis of the embed. After welding, the small angle is removed from the installation. This procedure to connect the steel beam to the concrete foundation is time consuming, induces errors in position, and produces significant stress on the embed at the weld.